unsolvedmysteriesfandomcom-20200215-history
Elmer DeBoer
Real Name: Elmer Dell DeBoer Nicknames: No known nicknames Location: Waterford, Michigan Date: May 11, 1987 Case Details: Thirty-eight-year-old Elmer Deboer was an oil company courier with a wife and three children. In 1987, he befriended a gas station employee named Missy Munday. He picked up money from her station each week. He did not know that she was a runaway and that her boyfriend, Jerry Strickland, was a wanted fugitive. On the morning of May 11, 1987, Elmer came to pick up the money from Missy's station. He was near the end of his route. He was never seen alive again. An hour later at 11am, the station was discovered deserted and the front door locked. His car was still in the parking lot. Inside, the safe was found opened and over $10,000 was missing. Authorities believe that Missy and Jerry robbed Elmer when he entered the station and opened the safe. They believe Jerry handcuffed Missy and Elmer together, to make him believe that she was also a victim. They then took him to a wooded area a few miles away. There, Jerry unlocked the handcuff from Missy's wrist to show that he wasn't going to hurt her. He then shot Elmer twice in the back of the head. His body was found there the next day, twenty miles from the station. The morning after the murder, Jerry and Missy were seen in Pontiac, Michigan, where they bought a truck using small bills. For two hours, she sat with an auto salesman alone but did not tell him about the murder. This led authorities to believe that she was willingly involved in it. Her family and friends are shocked that she could be involved in such a crime. Jerry is wanted for armed robbery, kidnapping, and murder, while Missy is currently wanted for questioning in the case. Suspects: Jerry Strickland and Missy Munday Extra Notes: This case first aired as a part of Special #7 on February 5, 1988. Results: Solved. Within minutes of the broadcast, twenty viewers called the police to report that Missy and Jerry were living in Moses Lake, Washington. Seven hours later, they were arrested at a friend's house. Incredibly, they had watched the broadcast and were waiting for the police to arrive. During the time on the run, Missy and Jerry had another child. On February 12, they were extradited back to Michigan to stand trial for armed robbery, kidnapping, and murder. Jerry was interviewed by Unsolved Mysteries and insisted that they were innocent. However, Missy later turned state's evidence against him. At his trial, she stated that although she didn't witness the murder, he confessed to the crime to her. In exchange for her testimony, the murder and kidnapping charges were dropped. She served seven months in a juvenile home for armed robbery and was released when she turned nineteen. She then moved back in with her parents and children. Jerry was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery and is serving two consecutive life sentences without parole. Links: * TV Show Takes the Mystery Out of Unsolved Murder * TV crime show leads to arrests in murder case * Fugitive Couple Nabbed After Airing of 'Unsolved Mysteries' * Pair arrested after TV crime show * TV show leads to capture of fugitive killer * Suspect puzzles school officials * Testimony disputed * Lover says Strickland confessed to murder * Lover says Strickland admits '87 Waterford Twp. shooting * Strickland Convicted in May 1987 Robbery-Slaying * Elmer DeBoer on Find a Grave ---- Category:Michigan Category:1987 Category:Murder Category:Abduction Category:Armed Robbery Category:Solved